Toasted Bread
by RantWaitingToHappen
Summary: Harvey&Mike are in a fight & go their separate ways during an event for Pearson Hardman; when Mike gets acquainted with one of the firms more wealthy clients, out of jealousy Kyle does something that crosses the line!HURT!Mike,Protective!Harvey LightSlasH
1. Chapter 1

**A.N. Started scribblings this down in my medical terminology notebook (after taking a horribly long test-guess who totally passed? Yeah. ;D) and thought I'd come home, type it out, and share it with you guys! I don't own Suits! But thank God for USA Network! (Yay for fan-service :D) Let me remind you this might not be super well written 'cause I was bored and experimenting with the idea and trying to characterize Mike and Harvey is still hard for me -.- But I hope you guys enjoy it :D! Btw, I know events like this usually take place during the evening/night, not the mornings, but roll with it for me? This was written right before lunch, I was starving and delirious. :0 **

**Chapter One. **

Harvey snatched the cup of coffee, freshly brewed, from his associates grasp and started sipping on it as he continued to walk toward the limo outside of Pearson Hardman.

"That's awesome, yeah, I didn't want coffee this morning anyway." Mike sighed, as he jogged a little to keep up with his mentor, who always seemed to be on the move and at least three steps ahead of him; both physically and metaphorically.

"Heard that." Harvey called out, gulping the rest of Mikes coffee. He didn't exactly have a preference, so long as there was caffeine in his system, and taking it from his pup was just far too convenient an opportunity to pass up sometimes.

"You were meant to." the younger man rebutted with a small smirk, as he caught up to his superior, on their way to the limo, where Ray was already holding the door open for Harvey.

"Good morning sir," he greeted Harvey, closing the door behind him as he entered, then nodded to Mike with a smile, as the associate got in through the other side, returning the smile politely.

Mike turned to his boss, "So who're we going to see? I didn't even know we had a new case."

"Not a case," Harvey corrected, sipping at the steamy Styrofoam cup. "It's a banquet for the biggest clients of our firm. A lot of the partners bring their associates to mingle and make good impressions on the other senior partners and a majority of wealthy benefactors."

Mike feigned awe. "Ooh, another chance to kiss ass at an I-earn-more-money-in-a-day-than-you'll-ever-see-in-your-lifetime convention." he rolled his eyes as he sunk into the seat, suddenly not so enthusiastic to get to where they were headed.

Harvey raised a brow, "Mike, this face? It's me caring about whether or not you want to go to this event and 'kiss ass' as you so eloquently put it. I had the good grace to bring you, and seeing as how you're a representation of me, you will act like you're damn happy to be there and you will smile at all the clients even if they do make at least thrice your yearly salary in a month."

Mike decided not to answer that, and crossed his arms over his chest, looking out the window instead. Stupid Harvey, always having to make him look like an ungrateful child.

The rest of the limo ride was full of awkward, uncomfortable silence on Mikes part. Harvey didn't seem to mind in the least, as he looked through the relevant news section of his New York Times paper. Ray looked in the mirror, back at the two lawyers and shook his head subtly. He understood where Mike was coming from; Ray knew just from looking at the kid that he wasn't like those other associates at Pearson Hardman. Mike didn't look like someone who didn't appreciate the small things in life, nor did he seem like someone who'd had the most privileged life, either. However, he also saw Harveys view on the whole fiasco. Things like making good impressions in social situations were top priority in this cut-throat world of lawyers, even Ray knew that.

Upon their arrival, Harvey and Mike parted ways without a word, both residing to opposite corners of the room, purposely ignoring one another.

Harvey made conversation with the CEO of a pharmaceutical company he'd represented in court a couple of years back, all the while keeping an eye on his pup. Sure, he was ticked off at the kid, but that didn't mean he wasn't still his responsibility. He noted that Mike was doing surprisingly well, making what seemed to be animated conversation with one of the firms' most wealthy clients, a Dante Shailor.

Harvey had to admit, he was impressed. Dante was an eccentric billionaire with too much free time and not enough to do-his late father had been the inventor of the toaster and his son had coasted through life on trust-fund money until in his late thirties, he'd taken over the company as President. The guy had been born with a silver spoon in his mouth, exactly the kind of person Mike had been dreading to meet in the car, but it looked as if Harvey had worried for naught. The pair looked to be getting along splendidly.

Even if Harvey was glad about this, he was also taken aback. Dante Shailor, although possibly their wealthiest client in the firm, never spoke more than two words to anyone-not even Jessica Pearson herself. He came to these events and just sat or stood in a corner by himself with that one drink he'd taken at the beginning of the event all night, often texting-as juvenile as this sounded. But he seemed to have taken a liking to his associate, and everyone else noticed this as well.

Harvey would catch the rest of the senior partners, Jessica, Louis, and the associates who had been invited to the event cast surprised or mildly impressed glances at the two.

"Looks like Mr. Ross and Mr. Shailor are really hitting it off." Jessica walked over to Harvey in her elegant dress, tailored to fit every curve on her body with ease, and ordered a cocktail.

"Make it two." Harvey told the bar tender, "Kid didn't even want to come to this thing. Got all teenage cynic on me in the limo on the way here, had to set him in his place."

Jessica arched a brow, "On the way here? You didn't tell him about it 'till you were in the limo, did you?" she asked knowingly, shaking her head at the man.

"What?" he asked, shrugging his shoulders innocently, "He would have tried to opt out of it otherwise, he abhors these kind of events, I know Mike."

"Whatever you say Harvey, he looks to be thriving. I don't know how," she said, a small tone of awe in her voice. "We've been trying to make a rapport with the man for years, he never consults us when he does something major with his company or decides to take off for vacation, it's a chaos trying to keep up with the man. Hopefully with this new relationship Mr. Ross initiated things might get easier."

Harvey glared at his boss slightly. "Mike didn't initiate a _relationship_, Jessica, it's just work." he said, almost to himself, and missed the knowing look Jessica gave him, and the small smirk that accompanied it, as she patted his arm and went off with her cocktail in her lovely dress to make conversation with the rest of her firms prestigious clients.

On the other side of the room, Dante was laughing at something Mike had said, Louis noticed, as he passed the couple, jealousy grabbing hold of him. He'd tried to coerce Mr. Shailor for _years_, the man had never budged once, and now Harveys associate extraordinarily came into the picture and practically had the man eating out of the palm of his hand. "What a joke." Louis sneered under his breath.

Kyle Durant, Louis' protege' associate, walked behind him, and glared at the pair as well, angry he hadn't been able to make such a good impression, but that Mike Ross of all people had. As he passed though, he noticed the particular drink Mike was holding. Not many people in the room were drinking the red concoction, and he saw that there was only a small tray of them floating around with the waiter. Kyle grinned with malice as an idea formed in his mind. Mike Ross wouldn't be impressing much anyone throwing up all over the place-the clients and the other partners would think he couldn't handle his liquor and he'd end up being one big embarrassment.

Kyle excused himself for a moment and went to the bathroom. He checked his pockets and came up with a small bottle of ipecac, a liquid syrupy substance used to induce vomiting. He almost hadn't remembered he'd taken the medicine from his parents' house when visiting last week-he dreaded having to visit his family-and had had to make his mothers' dog Fifi drink the stuff after she'd eaten a large piece of chocolate cake.

He took the red drink from one of the waiters as he stepped outside and mixed the syrup in it, surprised when it blended in with the blood red drink. "Hey, c'mere." he called one of the waiters very discretely, handing him the drink and stuffing a twenty into his pocket. "Give that blond guy right there this drink, okay?"

The waiter looked at him suspiciously, but agreed-it was twenty bucks in his pocket, after all. He walked the room and when he got to Mike, he said "Drink sir?" holding up the one Kyle had given him.

Mike smiled. "Thank you." he took the drink and continued to talk to the eccentric billionaire, who was absolutely thrilled with his eidetic memory, and had an almost unhealthy love of graphic novels. Mike didn't want to get drunk at this event and chose to stick with this low-alcoholic drink in his hand. It didn't exactly have a kick to it, and was quite sweet, which was probably the reason not many folks were going for it, but he wasn't exactly a great drinker. Upon taking a few gulps, he frowned. It was sweet still, with a slightly bitter after taste. Mike didn't give it much thought though, as he continued to take sips of the drink and talk to Dante in an animated fashion.

"Give me one good reason."

Dante grinned. "I'm rich."

Mike rolled his eyes. "Uh, semi-lawyer here, I may not be able to buy a giraffe and my own amusement park like Michael Jackson did but I'm on time with the rent." he bragged.

Dante laughed, "Fine fine, how 'bout this? I'd buy you the entire collection of Captain America comics, mint condition, that same Italian Lamborghini used in Mission Impossible 3, tea with any of your favorite sports' team-"

"Whoa," Mike stopped him there. "You think I can just be bought with material things? Because you had me at mint condition. I am all yours, seriously, I don't even need a ring on my finger, the Lamborghini will be proof enough that we took vows."

The billionaire chuckled, putting an arm around the younger man. "So it's settled then? You'll marry me, quit law, and we'll travel around the world together?" he jested, Mike laughing along, as he drank the rest of his alcoholic beverage.

"You bet."

Harvey set down his own drink, narrowing his eyes at the two men across the room.

**A.N. Review please :o! Thanks. :) **


	2. Chapter 2

**A.N. Who was super sick and had to wait several hours in the doctors office before being seen and wrote down another chapter in the back of her English 4 notebook in the mean time? :D This giiirl! So yeah...ENJOY! AND THANK YOU ALL SOOOOO MUCH FOR YOUR REVIEWS. :) Made me really happy! Also, anyone reading my other Suits fic, Mike& the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day, (which I recommend to anyone who likes MAJOR h/c Suits!) I will be updating as soon as I can! Thanks for your patience! It's highly appreciated! You're all awesome. :) **

**Chapter Two.**

Mike was ridiculously unaware of the astounding impression he'd made on the senior partners and Miss Pearson so far. He was far too enthused interacting with Dante-the man was an absolute social animal and Mike was surprised no one had yet to interrupt their conversation to butt in.

As much as he was enjoying their animated conversation, Mike was starting to feel quite nauseous-which he thought was overkill since he'd only had a couple of drinks.

Dante noticed the abrupt change in the young mans' parlor and questioned him about it. "You're looking a little green there, love. Something the matter?" the concern in his tone was clearly evident as he took Mikes' chin in his index finger and thumb, turning his face toward his, to further scrutinize the associate.

From across the room a very pissed off senior partner planned Dante Shailors' funeral in his head. Didn't that man have any sense of personal space? There were such things as boundaries for a reason. Harvey had just had about enough of Dantes' blatant _flirting_!

Two clients near Harvey, both sisters and co-owners of their fathers' company, gushed over Dante in the corner. "He's so handsome!"

"Yes," the other agreed. "But he's so anti-social! I tried to talk to him once before and he completely ignored me." she sighed. "Which only made me want him more!"

The other sister laughed. "So true; look at those dark green eyes and those pecks and oh my God can his face be any more model-like?"

Harvey wanted to strangle someone. Preferably Dante. He was handsome too... Surely Mike thought so. Harvey shook his head. What was he thinking?

Mike had a mind to digress conversation but he really did feel awful. "I think I'm going to be sick." he swallowed back the bile in the back of his throat threatening to come up, holding onto the billionaires' expensive suit sleeve for dear life, knuckles turning white, as his world began to tilt, his vision blurring alarmingly.

Dante was literally the only thing keeping the associate on his feet at this point; he led the ill young man to the restroom carefully. To everyone else in the room the pair looked to be what most would consider very close friends, arms around one another's shoulder.

"That's it." Harvey muttered into his drink, standing up suddenly from the bar where he'd been brooding quite miserably for a while now, and stalking over to the mens' room.

He was not entirely sure what he'd been expecting when he entered the bathroom, but this certainly was not it.

A stall door was open wide, where a very pale Mike was hunched over the porcelain bowl vomiting fiercely. Dante was crouched down on his knees next to him, rubbing at his back like a parent would a sick child, murmuring comforting nothings into his ear as the younger man upchucked.

Harvey "gently" shoved the client away from Mike and took his place. He'd been watching him for most of the damn banquet and knew for sure that this couldn't possibly be due to the amount of alcohol he'd consumed-he'd stuck to a girly drink and had only had at most three in the several hours since the two had arrived to the event. "Mike, what's wrong?" _Stupid question..._he thought, even as he said the words, wincing as the only response to his question was more retching.

After several more painful minutes Mikes' bout of vomiting ceased, and he tried to catch his breath when out of nowhere Dante came over with a glass of tap water for him to rinse his mouth out with. Mike thanked the older man, his voice shaky as he did just that. Harvey glared at the eccentric billionaire. "You feel better?" he addressed his associate, making smooth circles on his back.

Mike nodded, "Much better." he replied. "Musta' been one of the appetizers I ate that went down bad or something." he justified, wiping his mouth with a napkin Dante handed him from his other side. "Thanks."

"You want I should take you home, love? You still look quite awful." Dante offered worriedly.

Mike feigned insult. "Is that any way to treat your newest concubine?" he hoped his joking would get the two older men to stop staring at him like he was about to keel over-even if that's how he felt, he thought miserably.

Harvey forgot all about his worry the moment the two started acting all friendly with one another and jealousy and anger were left in their wake. "Then get back out there," he got up from his crouched position next to Mike with a quickness that was almost superhuman, nearly knocking the kid over, if not for Dante at his side, who held onto him and kept him balanced. "You're going to make me look bad." with those harsh parting words, Harvey brushed himself off with a dark frown and got back outside where the banquet continued, food being served by well-dressed waiters.

"Your boss is a bit of an asshole if you don't mind me saying." Dante commented loudly, so that as he exited, Harvey heard the derogatory statement clearly.

Mike wanted to snicker, even crack a grin, but instead, found that his heart sank a little at Harveys obvious indifference.

His head was swimming still, his stomach in knots, and his vision blurring slightly every few minutes-the only good thing about having barfed was that he was no longer nauseous. All his other symptoms persisted with a vengeance.

"You sure you're alright? I don't want my bride passing out on our honeymoon." Dante helped him onto his feet with care.

Mike forced a smile. No, he didn't feel alright at all. In fact, he felt worse, if that was possible. Despite this, he nodded. "I'm good, let's go back out to that shindig, I think they're starting to serve the food."

Dante led the young man out, one hand protectively at the small of Mikes' back.

**A.N. Not as long or action-y as I'd have liked 'cause I'm like, dying with the common cold here ._. but I hope you guys got somethin' out of it and review? :0 I love seeing what you guys thought! It seriously means a lot! :) **


	3. Chapter 3

**A.N. Okay, this story was supposed to be a one shot at first (Honest!) and then after I realized it had more potential than that I decided, okay, three chapters should just about do it! And now...well, I've let my mind run wild with things once again and this will definitely be longer than three chapters, so get ready, yeah? :) Anyway, I've lost my voice...and when I do attempt at speaking I sound raspy/throaty, so it just sounds weird and jazzy...but yeah! I am getting better (no more stuffy nose or constant sneezing and headache!****)****, so that's awesome :) Thank you guys so much for all the reviews! Cannot tell you enough about the awesomeness of each and everyone of them :o In fact, if I get the time (I lack time in a ridiculous way -.-) I'll start replying to all your reviews instead of reading them and going "D: YOU LIKE MY STORY? I LOVE YOU!" and virtually hugging each and every single one of you in my head. :) Any how! On to the story! :D ALSO! For all of you who like Dante, thanks :D, for all of you who don't xD don't worry! It's just bromance (really awesome bromance that makes Harvey jealous :D) between those two! It's Harvey&Mike (I don't like Marvey or Hike...it's blegh...so stick to...idk, Harke?) all the way for me! :) Sorry for the longness of this A.N -.-!**

**Chapter Three. **

"Mike, love, are you sure you're alright?"

Mike felt like throwing up again. His stomach was twisted into knots and his vision was clouded. His meal sat untouched, in front of his place, at the dinning table for two which Dante had selected for them. Mike had looked down at his plate once, and what would have been quite appetizing a couple of hours ago was only making him want to get up and run to the toilet, now.

Before he could do so though, a quiet settled in the banquet dinning hall. The lights dimmed considerably and Jessica Pearson appeared on the platform stage a few tables ahead of them, with several other veteran senior partners seated pristinely behind her, with the anomaly of Harvey, a relatively new senior partner. She took the mike, smiled at the crowd of associates and clients, and began her speech, thanking everyone for coming to the banquet, thanking all of their clients for their loyalty and business, and so on.

It would be impossible at this point to get up discretely and run off to the bathroom and barf again. Everyone would notice and he'd end up making the horrible impression of not wanting to listen to the head of the firm on all the partners, associates _and _their super wealthy clients; and God forbid he make Harvey look bad. As that last thought popped into his head, his stomach churned, but for a different reason. Did Harvey really not care? And why did he care that Harvey didn't care?

A sharp sudden pain shot across his stomach and Mike just barely kept himself from hissing, one hand clutching at his stomach, in vain hopes of making the ache quit.

Dante, who'd been feigning paying attention up until then, heard a very faint grunt from the seat beside him, and turned to face Mike, who was practically hunched over the table, eyes shut tight, in what seemed to be obvious pain. Dante wasn't a very social-conscious man. He often ignored the wrong people on his social status, said the right things at inappropriate moments, and his gestures rarely matched the way he felt. But even he knew to whisper his next words, not wanting to alert the entire room of his new companions' distress, as Mike looked to be hiding it from his co-workers. "Michael, what's wrong?"

Abruptly, Mike stood up, attracting everyones' attention, and started vomiting all over the table. Humiliation made him break out in a cold sweat, or was it the intense agony in his abdomen? Mike wanted to hide under a rock. Everyone who was anyone at their firm was basically here, and they had all just watched him yak on a table mantle with a higher thread count than his own bed sheets, he bet. Harvey was going to murder him and let Donna finish him off with a nail filer.

Instead of hearing murmured "Oh my, how uncouth." from any of the clients, or "Way to go Ross." from any of his co-workers, and no sort of disapproving mutters from any of the higher-ups, like Mike expected, as he continued to cough up bile, he heard words of concern. Which in turn, concerned him. Did he really look that awful?

"Holy shit." he heard Dantes' faint accent next to him, and realized he was the only thing holding him steady at the moment-for the second time that day. "Somebody call an ambulance, stat!" he demanded, and Mike was shocked to see almost every single one of the persons in the banquet, including several of the waiters, start taking out their cellular phones to dial 9-1-1.

He then heard Harveys voice, "Not everyone! You'll block the signal if you all call at once." He pointed at a woman in a navy blue dress to his side and said, "You, call an ambulance, tell them to hurry to this address, and if dispatch asks, his symptoms consist of vomiting and hacking up an indecent amount of blood."

The woman nodded nervously, but swiftly dialed the number and waited for her call to get through.

_Blood?_ It was then that Mike noticed the iron after taste in his mouth, and all the dark red color splattered across the table like a prop straight out of a horror movie. His vision blurred significantly, his head pounded mercilessly, his stomach was attempting to consume itself and a couple of his intestines, as well, and his world was tilting again. Before he reached the ground, though, two strong pairs of arms caught him mid-air.

"Love?"

"Mike!"

The two distinct and different voices were the last things Mike heard before everything went black.

**SUITS SUITS SUITS SUITS SUITS SUITS SUITS SUITS SUITS SUITS SUITS SUITS SUITS SUITS SUITS SUITS**

"You don't need to be here."

"There's no law against being here for a good friend, is there?" Dante spared the lawyer a brief look, before his eyes went back to the OR doors, where Mikes' stomach was being pumped right now.

"You only just met Mike a few hours ago." Harvey pointed out, his sights also targeted directly at the door where soon the doctor would come out and tell them everything was alright and Mike was out of danger and not coughing up blood anymore...it had been an enormous amount of blood.

"Quality over quantity." Dante replied indignantly, "What is it that you're doing here? From what I garnered in the bathroom so long as the boy doesn't ruin your image, anything else concerning Michael shouldn't be of consequence to you; or am I wrong?"

Harvey glared at the man. "I'm his Boss, he's my responsibility, so f-"

"Harvey Specter?" A doctor in scrubs came out of the OR, calling for the senior partner, whom quickly stood from his plastic, uncomfortable chair.

"That would be me."

"You're listed here as Mr. Ross' emergency contact and next of kin." she read from the clip board in her gloved hands.

Harvey tried not to awe at that. He was listed as the kids next of kin? Since when had that happened? He could have lived a lifetime without having learned that tidbit of information if it guaranteed Mikes' health. "What's wrong with him? Why did it take so damn long in there?" He was well aware of Shailor standing behind him, his face a mix of worry and curiosity.

"Mr. Ross had severe abdominal swelling, the lining in his stomach tore, very common to a stomach ulcer-it's why he was throwing up so much blood-internal bleeding. It took so long because we had to perform an appendectomy-meaning we removed Mr. Ross' appendix, and clot the bleeding by suturing the tears in his stomach. The appendicitis alone would take about three days to heal, but due to the severe bleeding his recovery time is an estimated two to three weeks." she concluded.

"It was appendicitis then?" Dante peeked over Harveys' shoulder, which really didn't take any effort, as he had about two inches on the man where height was concerned.

"You could say so," the doctor replied vaguely, then explained, "Originally we'd planned to pump his stomach for whatever toxins may have caused the rupture and internal bleeding, but the appendicitis and tearing of the lining became first priority. However, we did find out that in his system, is a drug called ipecac; what that is, is basically vomiting inducing syrup substance that is used primarily for riding the body of poisons, if ingested. It usually works within the half hour after taken, and you must be careful with the dosage, because in a lot of cases, it has caused internal bleeding if the user consumes a large dose."

"So you're saying Mike took ipecac and that's why all this happened?" Harvey asked incredulously. "That makes no sense, Mike wouldn't-"

The doctor nodded, interrupting the Harvard grad. "It doesn't make any sense that he would take this specific drug at all, because as it states in his medical file here," she referred to the clip board in her hand, and continued speaking, her brow creasing with lines. "He's allergic to two of the three primary ingredients used to make ipecac, and this drug was actually taken out of the market when Mr. Ross was a teen, probably, because it caused more harm than it did any good."

"Somebody spiked Mikes' drink, then?" Harveys eyes immediately lead to the taller man next to him, and realized with a dash of disappointment that it couldn't be him. Yes, Mike had been with the man all day, practically, but the emotion Dante was displaying right now was too real for Harvey to over look as pseudo acting-Harvey read people for a living; it was his thing.

"I don't want to start pointing fingers just yet, not until Mr. Ross is awake enough to tell us his side of the story, but in confidence, yes, I believe your associate was drugged unknowingly." The doctor confided to the two men, both of who wore dark expressions now.

**SUITS SUITS SUITS SUITS SUITS SUITS SUITS SUITS SUITS SUITS SUITS SUITS SUITS SUITS SUITS SUITS**

It was nearly midnight, well past visiting hours, when Mike stirred.

He was hooked to a breathing machine, a heart monitor, and an IV, keeping him hydrated and medicated. He looked tiny in the large hospital bed with only a gown and a thin sheet to keep him warm.

Harvey sat on the chair next to the heart monitor, next to his associates' bed, doing monotonous paper work Donna had bought him earlier, when she'd come to visit the unconcious young man, being a mother hen, fluffing his pillows, tucking him in, demanding a more spacious room for her duckling. She was a regular Martha Stewart, that woman.

On the opposite side, sat Dante, who'd refused to leave the room on the grounds that he donated yearly to this particular wing of the hospital and was fairly acquainted with the staff. Harvey hated him so much. _'Go home already_,' was at the tip of his tongue when Mikes eyelids fluttered and the two older men were at attention in an instant.

Mikes' eyes opened slowly, he looked around the room dazedly, felt Harveys hand suddenly touch his, and startled. "Harvey?" he called out softly, his voice a mere whisper.

"Yeah, Mike, I'm right here; how do you feel?"

Mike was looking elsewhere, but answered none the less. "Ev'rythin' hurts." he admitted. "S'dark in here, turn on th'lights." he requested, tugging weakly at Harveys shirt sleeve.

Dante and Harvey both froze, mirror stricken looks on their faces for a dreadful minute.

Harvey opened his mouth, shut it, opened it again, and shut it again. He couldn't say it, and Dante saw his dilema.

Dante took Mikes' other hand in his, "Michael, it's me, Dante."

Mike turned in his general direction, smiled gently, "Dante...wha' happened? Where am I? How long have I been out? It's pitch black in here." Mike wondered, and Dante clenched his hand, bit his lip. Oh dear God, somebody had to tell him.

"Love, the you're in the hospital, you had minor surgery this afternoon to repair the tears, stop some internal bleeding, and remove your appendicitis." He stopped, looked at Harvey, who looked as stricken as if he'd been told his mother had just passed, and decided he had to continue. "Michael, is it dark in here?" he quired.

Mike frowned, still semi-conscious, the drugs in his system mellowing him out in a way all that weed with Trevor had never really accomplished. "Yeah, s'dark. Can't see an'thing." Why couldn't someone just turn on the lights?

"The lights are on. They've been on this entire time, love."

**A.N. Quite frankly, I made up the allergic reaction/bad side effect to ipecac myself, since I couldn't find anything that suited this fic, and I hope you guys liked this chapter so far! Don't worry, for anyone who's wondering, I don't like permanently injuring my characters in any major ways, so yeah, be ready for some major comfort from Harvey, Donna, Rachael (maybe?), & Dante, some competition between Harvey and Dante, and just awesomeness in general? Heh heh. :) More chapters to come soon! Please please review! :o Thank you so much! :D **


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four.**

"What's wrong with him?"

Dante was sat at one side of the hospital bed, his hand rubbing up and down Mikes back in an attempt to calm the young man. The problem wasn't the room, Mike thought in a panic, the problem was him. He couldn't see a damn thing.

"We were afraid of this," Dr. Grendel bit her lip, took out her penlight, and shined it in an unaware Mike's face, his pupils not reacting a single bit. "The allergic reaction to ipecac was purely inflammation-that's what caused the appendicitis and abdominal pain. Mr. Ross, do you have a head ache?" she addressed the blond.

"Y-yeah." he stuttered, Harvey at his other side, intertwined his fingers with Mikes for assurance. "What's wrong with me? Why can't I...see?" even saying it sounded wrong.

"Rest assured the blindness is only temporary. The inflammation of your retinas-also caused by the drug-should wear off eventually." The doctor assured the three men.

"How soon is eventually?" Harvey demanded.

"Allergic reactions to ipecac are both rare and unpredictable, and while I am quite certain the swelling should decrease and go down, I can't say for sure when that will be. His vision could come back at any time; from the end of today, to the end of this week, to at most, a month."

Mike's unseeing eyes went wide, his expression stricken with distress. "What? No- a month?" What would he do if this...allergic reaction lasted an entire month? A week even? Could he continue to work blind? Would Harvey fire him? How would he pay for his grandmothers' medical bills? How would he be able to pay his rent?

"It's very unlikely it will last that long, but there is a slight possibility." The doctor tried to reassure her uneasy patient. "In the morning we can take some CAT scans to see how severe the swelling really is. You have to understand, all this really is, is an inconvenience Mr. Ross. It's not permanent." She emphasized this point, hoping to keep Mike from hyperventilating. The intercom called for Dr. Grendel in the ER and she excused herself before scurrying out of the room, leaving the three males alone.

"Ipecac?" Mike tried to change the subject of his blindness. "I don't remember takin-"

"That's because someone in the banquet tried to poison you, Mike, and they succeeded, too." Harvey's voice was grave, and Mike almost felt sorry for the person responsible, because Harvey was not a force to be reckoned with-even on a really good day.

"But why?" Mike couldn't grasp the fact that someone had purposely drugged him. "I mean, not many people know I'm allergic to ipecac."

"Perhaps neither did they." Dante piped in, eliciting a subtle glare from the senior partner at Mike's right side. "Could have well been a jealous associate, I should think? I've been to enough of these events to know how hard they like to kiss arse, and the competition between you usual lawyer types is fierce. Although, frankly, I never thought it would go this far." all the while he ran his fingers through Mike's baby-soft tuffs of hair.

"That's outrageous." Mike couldn't believe someone would do that-maybe it was his naiveté was often his downfall.

"But not far-fetched." Harvey begrudgingly agreed with the billionaires' assessment. "It must have been one of the associates, Mike. Do any of them have something against you?"

Mike grimaced. "Try all of them." he sighed miserably. Besides Rachael the paralegal, who had taken some vacation time a couple of days ago and wouldn't be back until the end of the week, none of the associates even liked him.

Harvey arched a brow. He really hadn't thought it was that bad. He knew the whole 'pick on the new guy routine' was normal, a little bit of hazing never hurt, but it had been several months now, since Mike had joined the firm, and Harvey worried that he hadn't made any friends yet. Mike was likable-he tended to grow on people. Were the associates really that petty he'd been picked as Harvey's underling instead of one of them that they couldn't let it go, and one of them had actually tried to humiliate Mike at the banquet about it? "Jesus." Harvey muttered.

"What am I going to do until I can...see again?" Mike asked tentatively, leaning into both Harvey and Dante, their touch the only thing grounding him at the moment.

"You're going to come into work as usual; I hate temps." Harvey replied casually.

It was Dantes' turn to glare at the senior partner. "Have you gone mad? Someone in that bloody office nearly killed him, and you're sending the boy back in there blind?"

"He'll be in my office, not that I need to explain myself to you, and having him there will help us sniff out the son of a bitch who did this if it really was someone in the firm." Of which he had no doubt about at this point. He'd have to tell Louis to keep a look out-sure, Louis didn't like the kid, but Harvey didn't trust him to be so deviant, much less actually do anything to make the firm look bad in front of wealthy and potential clients.

"Well I think that's rubbish."

"Well I think this doesn't concern you."

"Michael's a friend, of course it concerns me."

"_Michael's _my employee, it concerns me a hell a lot more."

"I have to disagree with th-" Dante paused, looked down, and the two men realized Mike had fallen asleep listening to them argue. He smiled down at the young man-he looked very at peace in between the two, despite his current dilemma.

Harvey, at the opposite side of Mike, pulled up the sheets and tucked his associate in, trying and failing miserably, to hide the small smile that appeared on his face when Mike settled in more comfortably, with a content sigh.

An hour later Dr. Grendel came back with the intention of telling her patients guests they could come back in the morning to visit their friend, when she was struck silent by the sight that greeted her, even before she had a chance to disrupt the peace.

The blond Adonis lay on the hospital bed, to her patients left, in the fetal position, head tucked into the crevice of Mikes' neck, one hand on his breast bone, sound asleep. The handsome brunette lay to her patient's right side, his entire arm laid over Mikes' chest, fingers lightly gripping the cloth of his hospital gown, his head rested just so that his lips were next to Mikes' cheek.

In all her years of being on call during the night shift, Dr. Grendel couldn't say she had ever seen a sight so odd, yet heart-warming at the same time. She was suddenly glad they hadn't been able to find a regular sized-bed to accommodate her patient. Who, she noted, looked rather content in the arms of the two men at his sides. She reconsidered telling them to leave 'till morning came-they looked so comfortable, after all.

"I wouldn't mind going into law if that's the way associates get handled around the office." she muttered under her breath with a small smirk as she shut off the lights and silently closed the door behind her as she continued to make her nightly rounds and check-ins.


	5. Chapter 5

**A.N! Just to confirm something a lot of people have been wondering! Dante is roughly a tiny bit younger than Harvey, but definitely older than Mike. So yeah. :) And just a quick question before we begin! Team Harvey or Team Dante? (That might spur some debate...just wondering, is all.)**

**(Frankly, I didn't expect Dante's character to get so...popular? lol, he was originally supposed to just be in that first chapter to make Mike look good and impress the senior partners and Jessica! So yeah, I didn't give it much thought when writing his character!) **

**So I'd like to know how many of you even like Dante? To those of you who don't, don't worry! Mike is all Harveys'! I can't picture Mike with anyone else that isn't Harvey, honestly! Dante is just a flirty friend (bromance FTW!)-because all the associates are douche-baggies and Mike needs a friend :o! **

**I do apologize to those of you who like Dante so much you want the three of em to end up together (I pictured it just now and it would be delectably awesome o.o) but I might write an alternate story (or something...?) wherein Harvey, Mike, and Dante possibly hook up(just for you guys ;D)? **

**But yeah, this story itself is JUST Harvey/Mike! **

**Anyway! My new beta! She's awesome! :D Hope you all enjoy this chapter! Sorry for the long wait.**

**Chapter Five.**

Two days later Mike wished he could see what he looked like in the mirror.

That morning he'd gotten dressed, with Harvey's reluctant help, for work, had run his hands through his hair once or twice, hoping it looked somewhat normal and fumbled around the room for his shoes for a minute or two before Harvey had led him downstairs.

As Mike felt his way around for the handle of the car Ray stepped in and opened the door helping Mike in so that he didn't hit his head on the way. "Thanks Ray." Mike muttered, embarrassed that he couldn't even do that on his own. He felt Harvey sink into the seat next to his and relaxed slightly. "What do you expect me to do in the office?" Mike wondered out loud. "In case you haven't noticed I'm kind of blind in both eyes." he deadpanned.

Harvey glared at his associate, a habit instilled in him already, despite knowing the kid couldn't see a thing.

"Stop looking at me like that." Mike complained.

Harvey gawked. "What? I-how'd you-"

"I can feel your eyes burning holes into my skull." Mike grinned cheekily as Ray pulled up to the firm.

Mike had been let out of the hospital late last night with instructions to rest for two weeks to the stitches on his abdomen from the surgery heal. He'd also been required to wear a white bandage over his eyes and wrapped around his head to protect his unseeing irises until the inflammation went down and he could see again. "I bet I look like a mummy." Mike had whined to Harvey last night, when he'd dragged him to his condo. Mike wasn't allowed to be home alone unsupervised until his sight returned to him after all.

"C'mon Princess, we've got work to do." Harvey helped Mike out of the car and tugged on his sleeve, leading him up the stairs of the building carefully. Ray stood by the car for a moment longer than he usually did, biting his lip in worry, as he watched his boss handle the young associate.

"Careful with him Harvey." he muttered under his breath, before taking one finally glance at the pair and getting back into the limo.

To say that the bullpen got a little quiet upon his entrance was an understatement. Rumors on just how Mike gotten to his current state had spread like wild fire over the last two days, ever since the banquet, amongst the associates.

"They're staring." Mike sighed under his breath.

Harvey raised a brow. "Stop doing that."

"What?"

"That thing; you're creeping me out. You're blind. At least act like it." Harvey looked around; they were indeed staring.

As they approached Harvey's office Donna got up and out from behind her desk to plant a big hug on Mike, who startled a little, until he realized it was Donna. The familiarity of her scent was comforting. "Whoever did this to you is going to pay in blood." She feigned a saccharine smile for the onlookers, but only Harvey and Mike heard the underlying threat in her voice. "You poor thing you!" She went on, mother-henning the young associate; fixing his hair, straightening his tie, buttoning his suit jacket.

"Why did you bring him to the office? He should be at home, resting. Being nursed back to health!" She chastised Harvey. "He just went through surgery! I bet you feel like crap, don't you?" she addressed Mike, hugging him close to her chest as if he were an orphaned puppy. "And you," Donna went back to glaring daggers at her boss. "Be more considerate; if I hear one little complaint come out of Michael's mouth today, your ass is mine. Got that?" She pecked Mike's forehead before sitting back pristinely into her comfortable leather chair and getting to work, not paying one bit of attention to the two men she'd just left speechless.

Harvey quickly led Mike into his office, hoping not to spur Donna's wrath on himself-nobody wanted that-and sat him down on his couch. Mike swatted Harvey's hands away. "Eidetic memory, Harvey, I know where everything is; I can manage." He assured the older man. "So, what do you want me to do?"

"Learn to read braille?" Harvey jested, as he organized some papers on his desk.

"Already do." Mike replied, playing with one of the pillows on the couch. It probably had a higher thread count than his own sheets at home...

Harvey started. "You what? I was joking you know. I was going to have you do some consulting for some pro bono cases."

Mike shrugged. "I can read in braille if there's anything like that around here."

Harvey thought for a moment. "Yeah, there is. There's actually a small department in the building that deals with that. When did you learn to read in braille?"

"It was years ago. I'm multi-talented." Mike grinned. "You can close your mouth now; flies will get in."

Harvey rolled his eyes. "Wasn't open, Einstein."

"Yeah, okay." Mike smirked.

Two hours later Mike was settled into a new desk, in the department of translation. There were translators there for both foreign languages and sign language, as well, he was told by Harvey.

A lovely woman, in her late thirties, early forties, named Reina McCarthy, was a braille script translator. She introduced herself to Michael as soon as she heard there was a new temporary translator working alongside her. The two had hit it off immediately. "This is my eye dog, his name's Odis." She took Mike's hand and led it over to the top of the large canines head.

Mike had always loved dogs and relished the opportunity to be so close to one. The two conversed some more that first day and frankly didn't get any real work got done. "So I'm in the store with Odis here and my baby girl Layla, we're picking up the cake for her daddy's birthday, and the cashier, she takes out the cake, and very loudly and very slowly, she says, 'Do you want me to call someone for you?', and I'm a little taken aback, I'm thinking, I need someone with me to get a cake now?" Reina was saying, humor in her tone. Mike listened avidly, chuckling at her story.

"What'd you say?" he asked, curious, hand gently caressing the dog, its head on Mike's lap resting comfortably, while still keeping a keen eye on his beloved master as she revealed her tale.

"I took the cake, I show it to Layla and ask, 'Honest opinion, is it pretty?' She's a perfectionist, so the kid takes her time looking at the cake, finally, she replies 'Yeah Mommy, I think it's really pretty.' So I look back at the lady and I say, 'I've got all the help right here.' and the lady's just kind of nervous the rest of the time I'm paying, keeps talking to me like I can't hear or something."

"Didn't it drive you up a wall? The way she spoke to you?" Mike wondered out loud.

"Oh yeah, definitely, but you win some you lose some, ya' know? Some people just feel uncomfortable around the sightless; it's natural." She shrugged. "I've been blind all my life; it's really not that big a deal anymore. I've got a wonderful husband, a daughter I'd die for, a dog who'd die _for_ me, and a good paying job at a huge law firm. If that's not living the life, tell me what is?" Reina smiled.

Mike smiled too. That really was the life. She was obviously happy, and Mike was glad that if anything came from this, it was that he'd gotten to meet Reina. He hadn't met anyone in the firm that was even remotely nice or liked him at all since the few months that he'd started working there, with the exception of Rachael-who was gone for the week. Donna was nice enough, but she was more Harvey's confidant than anything, and usually was too busy to pay much attention to him anyway.

Harvey was his boss; sure, they shared the occasional fist bump here and there and witty banter during cases, but Harvey didn't care about anyone, so he didn't count as a friend either. Louis...he didn't even need to get into specifics. Louis hated him as much as every other associate on the floor.

Outside of work he no longer had friends. Not any close ones, anyway. Trevor had been his best friend, Jenny a close second and he had never felt like a third wheel when the three hung out together. He missed that, having someone to call up to just talk or go out and get a few beers. It was depressing that the only contacts in his phone anymore consisted of work and his grandmothers' care center.

Today was a half day for Reina, who had received permission to take the rest of the day off to attend an important family event. She left right before lunch, hugging Mike goodbye warmly. "We'll talk more tomorrow, maybe get some actual work done?" she laughed. "I hope you get along fine here without me for today; I loved meeting you."

Mike smiled happily. "I'm sure I'll manage. It was great meeting you too Reina."

A few minutes after she and Odis were gone, though, Mike felt an odd emptiness settle in him, as he continued to diligently sort through files, typing down the words he was translating from the brail in the laptop on his desk.

Harvey sat at his large desk, not doing a single damn thing. Just staring at a blank screen on his computer, when a small box appeared on it with a shrill _ding_!

**Big Red:** _Go!_

**Pro:** _Donna, IMing? Really? This is so high school._

**Big Red:** _Which is why you have an account..._

**Pro:** _...What do you want?_

**Big Red:** _I want you to go see how Mike is doing. I'm going crazy thinking about him. And I know you are, too. So GO!_

**Pro:**_ I'm not going crazy thinking about Mike. I have better things to do. But I will go check on him. Only because it's lunchtime and the kid always skips lunch._

**Big Red:** _Of course._

**Pro:** _Really. I don't need a starved associate on my hands._

**Big Red:**_ Yeah. Okay. ;)_

**Pro:** _...I have no words. A winky face? I'm going to go now._

**Big Red:** _:)_

As Harvey walked out of his office he tried not to let his assistant see the smirk on his face.

She grinned. "Oh, Harvey." Donna muttered, as she sipped on her latte.

The translation department room was rather empty by the time Harvey peeked his head in. A handful of people were still there, but they were all clearly getting ready to go to lunch, a couple tossing weary glances toward the 'new guy'. "Mike," Harvey tapped on his shoulder, to get his attention.

Mike looked up so fast Harvey was surprised the kid didn't snap his neck. "Harvey?"

"No, it's Houdini." He retorted. "Get up, it's time for a lunch break and Donna doesn't want you to starve on my watch."

Ten minutes later the two were sitting outside a small caffe across the street from Pearson Hardman. Mike was munching happily on his cheeseburger, while Harvey stared in disgusted fascination. "How does someone so skinny eat something so atrocious? That thing is the size of your head." He commented.

Mike rolled his eyes underneath the heavy bandaging. "Prissy," he said, mouth full, just to make a point.

"Gross." Harvey shook his head, taking a napkin from the dispenser, leaning over the table, and wiping the sauce from Mikes chin in one swipe. "This is why people think you're twelve, I swear. That and your clothes are always trying to swallow you whole. Donna keeps saying you've lost weight since you started working for me, I think she's right. You should eat more." Harvey ranted.

Mike grinned. "You care."

"Not even a little." was Harvey's' instant reply. "So how was your first day so far? Make any friends?" he mocked.

"I did, actually. This woman named Reina, she's blind and she has a dog named Odis." Mike told him enthusiastically. "How's the office without me? I bet you miss me."

"Again, not even a little." Harvey smirked. "It's so much quieter in there without you suddenly barging in and plopping your ass on my couch at random times of the day."

"I'll take that as a very long 'yes', then." Mike decided.

"I've been meaning to ask," Harvey digressed. "How is it that you know braille, again?"

Mike shrugged. "I learned it as a kid."

"I didn't ask when, I want to know why. Not many people learn to read braille unless it's a necessity, as far as I know."

"I was blind temporarily before this, too." Mike admitted, and Harvey was glad for the first time in two days his associate couldn't see, because it meant he couldn't see the look of shock on his face.

"When? How?"

"I was six, I was blinded for a couple of months after my parents accidents and everyone thought it was permanent, so I ended up learning to read braille." Mike explained, very to-the-point, head down, pretending to stare at the half-finished food on his plate despite the bandaging over his unseeing eyes.

Harvey sat there for a moment, letting it all sink in. Thinking how horrible it must have been to wake up two days ago and realize you were blind-it must have brought up memories of his prior run in with the disability. It was probably why he didn't freak out the way Harvey thought he should have; Mike had been through it before. And right after his parents had both died in that car accident too...

But Harvey wasn't sentimental. He didn't care about others. He didn't _do_ emotions.

But damn if the kid didn't get to him sometimes.

"Want some ice cream?" Harvey asked abruptly. It was what had cheered him up as a kid. Although, Mike wasn't exactly a kid anymore-but he sure as hell looked it with those bandages wrapped over his eyes and around his head, and that too-big half-eaten cheeseburger on his plate.

Mike was left gaping for a minute. "What? Ice cream?"

"It's hot out. I thought you liked ice cream. Everyone does." Harvey said very matter of factly.

Mike smiled. "Except the lactose intolerant."

"Which you're not. And that last statement? Blatant lie. My last girlfriend was lactose intolerant and she loved the stuff." Harvey motioned the waiter over and ordered two vanilla milk-shakes after getting an approving nod from the blond man seated across from him.

Mike sipped on his vanilla milk shake through a crazy straw once it had arrived. It was like heaven was melting in his mouth, but for some reason, that last comment Harvey had made kept replaying in his head. My last girlfriend... You had to know someone a while to be able to reminisce about them the way Harvey just had, right? No one night fling just right off the bat admitted they were lactose intolerant to a random stranger they'd decided to sleep with. As he finished up his shake, he had to wonder why the hell it bothered him so much anyway.

Harvey's' personal life was of no matter to him, right? Even if he was staying at the guys condo until his vision had returned. Everything that had been going through his head relentlessly until then just kind of flew out the window when on their way back; Harvey held his hand in a very discrete fashion, right after Mike nearly tripped on the sidewalk.

He fell into step with his mentor, hands clasped together as they walked back to Pearson Hardman.

**A.N. Reviewing would be nice! (so do it...click the review button...it doesn't bite...I hope.) Thanks for reading. :)**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six.**

"So you two were best friends, then?"

"Yeah, we were pretty close. Go way back; hell, we slept together in college." Mikes' face reddened and he quickly set to remedy his words. "No, not, I mean, me and Trevor, we didn't sleep sleep together. We were roommates, during the winter there was this leak over my bed that never got fixed and I'd bunk with him on the other side of the room!"

Dante laughed whole-heartedly, then grinned, although he knew his friend couldn't see a single thing beneath those bandages. "Wow you're cute when you're flustered."

The blush of scarlet on Mikes cheeks got worse and he ducked his head. "You know, this is why Donna thinks we're dating." he deadpanned, shaking his head and sipping at his strawberry shake.

"S'that why she doesn't fancy me one bit?" Dante raised a brow, smirking all the while as he thought of the fiery redhead growling at him every time he showed up at Pearson Hardman to pick up her Boss' associate for lunch.

Mike made a show of being shocked. "Donna doesn't like you?" he feigned a gasp. "Maybe it has something to do with the fact that you're kind of an ass to Harvey all the time?" Mike snorted, pointing out the obvious. "Donna and Harvey are really close, ya' know. They do this thing in Harveys office with a can-opener and it's-" The blond shook his head. "Well, they're close." he surmised.

"I am naught an "arse" to Harvey Specter. I'm always on my best behaviour around him, in fact." the wealthy client smiled innocently.

"You can stop smiling now, even a blind man isn't buying it." Mike snickered.

Dante gaped. "Harvey's right; that is creepy. C'mon, let's get you back to the office before your lovely Boss man has me sued."

"_Ha-ha_. That is such a stereo-typical lawyer joke Dante, I thought you were above that." Mike rebutted playfully, as Dante put an arm around his shoulder, and led the shorter man back to Pearson Hardman.

"Oh hush you."

* * *

><p>It had been two weeks since Mike had lost his sight. The police were still working several angles on the case to figure out who it had been that had poisoned him at the banquet with zero palpable leads as of yet. In the meantime, he'd been living with Harvey in his glorious condo and hanging out with Dante during lunch breaks.<p>

Reina had invited Mike over to her home for the last two weekends and had been putting her time into teaching Mike how to cook-something that even as a man with vision he hadn't been able to do.

He thought of this as Ray dropped him off at Harveys condo. "Are you certain you do not want my help getting upstairs?" the worried driver asked for the millionth time.

Mike smiled. "I'm fine Ray, thanks." he shut the door and made his way carefully toward the doorway, where the doorman greeted him politely and opened the door of the building for him. He traced his fingers over all the buttons on the elevator before finding the right one after counting them each in his head, and pressed for the floor Harveys' condo resided in. Harvey was working late today, a meeting with a client at a winery, and wouldn't be back 'till probably eight or nine, Mike predicted.

Tonight, he decided, would be the night he finally tackled the culinary art of cooking a proper meal and showing off what he'd been taught at Reinas' so far. He'd memorized where everything in Harveys' kitchen was placed after a few days, wherein he's get out of bed and knock into the counter or stumble as the room went from lush thready carpet to cold, solid tile.

Two hours later Mike had burnt himself thrice, nearly sliced off a couple of fingers, and fallen over once. But, he hoped, the finished product would be worth all of his hard labor as soon as Harvey got home! He counted the steps to the counter and set down the food, reached for a pair of plates and placed an appropriate portion of food on each one, trying not to spill anything. Mike checked the time on his voice automated watch and realized it was nearly half past nine o' clock, and frowned deeply.

He decided against calling Harvey, in case he was still impressing the firms' newest client, and instead chose to sit at the table, dinner set, and wait for his arrival.

When the clock hit ten o' clock Mike clumsily wrapped Harveys plate in foil and carefully placed it in the refrigerator. Mike partook in eating his own meal, without much gusto nor any appetite, and washed the dishes when he was done.

He lay on the couch for two more hours after that, listening to the television, not really paying any attention to what show was playing or what was even going on.

For some reason, a feeling of deep disappointment had hit him like a bag of bricks very abruptly. He'd been looking forward to this all day. Mike shook his head, feeling like one of the women on Desperate Housewives.

Another hour flew him by and Mike realized it was past one in the morning. Giving into his initial reaction, Mike called Harveys cell. After several rings he got voice mail and sighed, not bothering to leave a message. After closing his cell and tossing it aside he sighed miserably. "Jesus Harvey, where the hell are you?" he wondered out loud, burying his face in a couch pillow.

* * *

><p>Mike stirred from his sleep on the couch, wondering when he'd passed out and if Harvey had come back yet. He heard a faint knock come from the kitchen and sat up, looking around the room in vain. "Harvey?" he called out.<p>

"Oh, I am sorry, I woke you." Mike blinked. He hadn't expected to have Ray answer him. "I drove Harvey back here and he was a bit intoxicated so I led him to his bed; he should be asleep now."

"What time is it?"

Ray didn't even bother checking his watch. He knew exactly what time it was. "Nearly four AM." he replied dutifully. It had been a while since the senior partner had called Ray up this late to come pick him up.

Mike gaped. "Where was he?"

"In the condo of a new conquest perhaps? The address was new." Ray replied pensively, but realized he'd said the wrong thing when Mikes' face fell.

A very soft "Oh." was all that Mike uttered upon on the matter, however. He apologized on Harveys behalf for the random late night disturbance, and bid him what was left of the 'good' night, and Ray sadly thought that he rather resembled a pained wife over the whole incident.

Mike slowly made his way across the room and walked into Harveys bedroom. Harvey was sprawled across the mattress, snoring away, suit still impeccably in place, Mike noted, as he tread his fingers lightly over his Boss' chest. He made work of stripping Harvey of his suit jacket and that damn matching vest he wore underneath it. He took off Harveys' expensive leather shoes and set them nicely on the floor beside the bed and slipped his belt from his pants before sliding them down the attorneys' legs, leaving him bare in his trousers and a wrinkled ivory dress shirt.

Mikes' other senses had improved quite noticeably since his loss of vision, but even a man with a lesser sense of smell could whiff the amount of alcohol Harvey had consumed that night. Not to mention the scent of sex that still lingered on his skin and on his clothing.

But those things didn't matter to Mike. Or at least, they shouldn't have."Could've called at the very least, you big jerk." Mike muttered as he tucked the older man in. "I make dinner and you don't even call to tell me you aren't coming home. I wait up all night for you and you come home drunk. I-" he paused. "You smell like sex and cheap perfume, Harvey, what the hell?"

"Mike..." Harvey mumbled drunkenly.

"I'm sure you were singing a different tune earlier tonight." Mike spouted, then retracted from the bed, when he realized what he'd just said. Why the hell did he care what his boss did in his free time? Yeah, they were temporary roommates, mentor and student, boss and employee, occasionally went out for a few beers now and then, but that was _all _they were.

Mike unwrapped his bandages in the bathroom and decided to call it a night-or morning really, considering it was now five AM.

Four hours later Mike felt something nudging roughly at his shoulder. "Mm." Mike groaned and blearily opened his eyes. "Wha'?" He realized it was Harveys socked foot on his shoulder, belatedly.

"It's nine the damn morning, that's "what'"!" Harvey mocked. "Why the hell didn't you wake me up? Hell, why didn't _you _wake up? We're late; if Ray hadn't called so persistently I doubt we would've made it into work today."

Mike gaped. "Why didn't I wake _you _up? Last time I checked that wasn't my responsibility. And the only reason I didn't wake up on time today is 'cause I waited up half the night for you to get home!" he argued.

Harvey snorted. "First, '_home'_? No, this is _my _condo, you are just an unwanted guest _in _it due to extenuating circumstances at the moment. Second, don't act like a martyr now, because somewhere in that blond head of yours you thought I needed you to wait up for me like some caring '_wife'_. News flash kid, I don't _care_."

Mike felt like someone had just punched a hole through his chest. 'Ouch' didn't seem to be an appropriate enough sentiment. All those times Harvey had said he didn't care had been in jest and Mike had never taken him seriously. This time though, it was hard not to believe the words that had come out of Harveys mouth.

* * *

><p>Ray immediately noted the uncomfortable silence in the back seat on the limo and sighed. Mike was uncharacteristically stone-faced and Harvey was pretending as if nothing had happened, flipping through some files on his lap, nursing his hang over with a steamy Styrofoam cup of coffee. Mike was wearing his bandages under thick-rimmed, dark sunglasses, and if the two hadn't been at odds with each other, Harvey would have pointed out how striking Mikes' appearance was to one of the men in black.<p>

* * *

><p>"What's wrong, hon?" Reina asked the young associate, a little after he was set up at his desk next to hers.<p>

"Harvey." Mike replied shortly, grinding his teeth. "He's so frustrating and so inconsiderate and such a big jerk and-" Mike sighed loudly. "He doesn't even want me in his condo; he said so this morning, he called me an _'unwanted guest' _and he said he didn't care about me." If there was a crack in his voice at the end of the sentence Reina didn't say anything.

She simply hugged her friend and Odis offered his own brand of comfort by licking at the blonds' hand and whimpering a bit. "Oh honey, I'm sure he didn't mean it. Now tell me, what happened? What led to all of this?"

Mike told her the whole story, the dinner, the late night rendezvous, everything that had led to Harveys' insensitive words that morning and Reina listened with patience and comprehension, Odis' head laying against Mikes leg protectively the whole time.

By lunchtime, Dante had come by to pick Mike and Reina up to eat and was also told of the occurrences of last night.

"Move in with me." Dante said easily.

Mike gawked. "What? No. I mean, I'm already a huge inconvenience for Harvey, I don't need to be a burden on you, too."

"Mike, Love, sometimes I swear you forget I'm a billionaire..." Dante tilted his head, and Reina giggled as she listened on to the banter between her two pals. "I have several spare rooms. In fact, we could walk the halls of my home for days and days and days and never once come across one another." he exaggerated. "It'd be more than a pleasure to have you as a guest in my home, Michael."

"You should take Dante up on his offer. Some time apart from your boss might do you both some good. Give you boys time to calm down and resolve a few things once you've each had some space to yourselves." Reina advised, patting Mikes hand affectionately. Secretly, she hoped this sudden move might stir that pig-headed boss of Mikes' to make his _own _move. Donna was right; those two were pining for each other. _Bad_.

* * *

><p>"You're doing what?"<p>

"I'm getting out of your hair, I'm moving out." Mike replied with an unerving calm, as he rummaged through his things in an attempt to pack properly.

Harvey glared at his associate with little result, pulling out Mikes clothes from the luggage as the associate shoved them back in. "Why?"

Mike sputtered. "You said so yourself, you don't want me here, so I'm ending my unwelcome stay!"

"Stop being a drama queen you big girl!" Harvey huffed. "You're taking things out of proportion."

"Then apologize." Mike ceased his packing and stood there, in the middle of the living room, in that universal 'I'm waiting' stance.

Harvey hesitated for a moment. "I don't _do _apologies, Mike. And have fun going to...oh, what's that? You have nowhere else to stay, is that right?" he mocked. "Face it Mike, you're not going anywhere. All the friends you had are AWOL-if you can even count Trevor as a friend in the first place. Oh, unless you were planning to stay in your grandmothers' nursing home?" Harvey said confidently. "I'm sure you would get along _splendidly_ there."

Mike simmered, continued to pack his things in an angry fashion, and zipped up his duffel bag. "I'll see you at work tomorrow you condescending prick." with those parting words, Mike slung his bag over his shoulder and quickly exited the condo.

Harvey rolled his eyes and looked at his watch. He gave the kid an hour, maybe two, tops, before he was back at his door with that stricken puppy dog look on his face. He walked over to the window and balked when he saw the long white limo outside of his condo. His mouth all but hung open when he saw none other than Dante Shailor get out of said limo.

"_The hell_?"

The driver, an older gentleman with a dashing black suit, got out as well, and greeted Mike warmly, as if he'd been acquainted with the young man before. Harvey glared daggers outside his window view. He'd almost completely forgotten that cocky billionaire had taken to wooing _his _associate with lunch 'dates' for nearly two weeks now.

The driver took Mikes duffel bag and Dante helped Mike into the car, said something that made Mike laugh, and Harvey knocked against the glass of his window. "Son of a bitch." he growled under his breathe.

* * *

><p>"Hey Love, do you want a bucket of ice cream? Always cheers me up after a shit day." Dante offered, knocking shoulders with the younger man.<p>

Mike sighed. "Awesome; now even ice cream reminds me of that huge jerk." he buried his head in his arms. "I'm sorry for being such crappy company."

"Nonsense. You're a wee heart-broken, Love, it's completely understandable."

"Heart-broken? No, no no." he shook his head. "Heart-broken would have to imply that I'm-"

Dante cut him off swiftly. "In love with Harvey Specter? Yeah, that's exactly what I'm saying."

Mike rubbed his temple. "That's not funny, Dante."

"Wasn't meant to be, Michael. If you two would only just admit your undying love for each other things would be a lot less complicated and neither of you would be sulking tonight." the billionaire explained simply.

"I don't love Harvey. And he's made it clear he doesn't even care about me." Mike disclaimed.

"And now you're wondering _'Gee, why do I sound so disappointed about that? And why didn't I deny loving another man any more profusely?', _yeah?" Dante guessed.

Mike shook his head, "You and Reina have been hanging out entirely too much. I don't _love _Harvey." he denied again, this time with more emphasis. "We are _not _a thing, nor will we ever _be _a thing. Why are we even talking about this? Harvey's like the straightest guy I've ever met, hands down."

Dante grinned a toothy grin. "Then you clearly haven't seen the way he looks at you, Love."

Mike rolled his eyes. "That's funny because I'm blind." he said dryly.

"Oh, you know what I meant!" Dante scoffed. "Look, Donna, Reina and I had a secret Three Musketeers Club meeting and discussed it; you're both irrevocably in love with each other, and that's final."

Mike sat in silence for a minute. "What? I'm sorry, I think I've gone deaf too. A secret what club? And I thought you and Donna were like, mortal enemies or something?"

"Uh, no, that would be me and Harvey." Dante corrected without missing a beat. "Donna and I, well, we're more like frienemies. And yes, there is a secret club and I've already broken rule number one: Never talk about The Three Musketeers Club. If I say anymore I'd have to kill you."

"Fight Club reference; always a winner." Mike commented with a slight smirk. "I'm going to sleep, all this talk of crazy conspiracies is wearing me out."

Dante led Mike to his the guest room, "Whatever you say. Just think about it, Love."

Mike did think about it.

In fact, he thought about it so long and hard that the sun had risen by the time he realized he hadn't slept a wink that entire night.

Dante had an early meeting that morning-being the CEO, it wasn't appropriate that he be late for a meeting he had called-and had left long before Mike had gotten out of bed.

Quinn, Dantes' dutiful driver and butler all wrapped into one, was there to greet him, however, and drive him to work.

Quinn also had a more refined English accent-Mike liked to think the Queen and Quinn spoke of politics over tea, so perfect was his English. "Michael, dear, you are looking quite melancholic this fine morning. Would you care to tell me what ever is the matter?"

Mike sighed deeply. "Dante put this ridiculous idea in my head last night and I haven't stopped thinking about it since..." the young associate rubbed at his forehead. "And I've had this headache since yesterday morning and it's only gotten worse today. You know, I'm starting to rethink this whole situation. I mean, why the heck am I mad anyway? It's not Harveys' fault I didn't tell him I was making dinner and he never showed up. It's not like it's any of my business what he does in his personal life. He wants to-"

As they came to a red light, Quinn wondered why the youth had stopped speaking, and turned around. "Michael, what is wrong?" the older gentleman asked, alarm as clear as day in his tone.

Mike was leaning forward, head in his hands, grinding his teeth. "My head." he managed to get out through his panting. "Feels like..." he gasped in pain. "It's going...to explode..."

Quinn had never made such an illegal u-turn in his entire life. Until today. He expertly maneuvered the limo onto the road that led them to the nearest hospital.

* * *

><p>"Harvey Specter, who is this?" the attorney picked up the phone call from the anonymous number.<p>

"Harvey, get your arse over to Saint Peters' Hospital. Somethin's the matter with your boy; I'm on my way there now."

"Dante?" Harvey was left speaking to a dial tone. "Mike..." he uttered, before pocketing his cell and telling Donna to cancel all of his plans for the day.

"What's wrong with Mike?" She called out knowingly, her face etched with concern, as the senior partner stalked off.

"I'm not sure yet!" he called back, before he was out of sight, taking the stairs, two at a time, heart pounding a mile a minute.

**Quite frankly, this is un-fixable... Like, I'm not proud of this chapter at all :/ And here's why: I'm a senior in a high school so I've been like crazy busy with SATs, studying, applying for colleges, deciding where I want to go, what I want to do, what I want to study, where I'm headed in life in general, keeping up with my studies at school (soooo many essays and projects and assignments-do teachers not understand the stress I am under right now!). So whenever I had free time, I would write a piece of this chapter down (whether on paper, my arm, a desk, or in my head, you get the point), and this took place in the course of the time it's taken me to update ANYTHING on this site :/! It's ridiculous, I apologize right now for the looong waits in between chapters, I haven't given up on ANY of my stories, I'm just extremely busy at the moment! Um, so yeah, the point is, I ended up writing small parts over the course of several days and therefore none of it really sounds like it fits together, and I don't know, it was really hard to dish this chapter out due to the circumstances, but it's the general idea of where I wanted this chapter to go and I don't have the time or energy to even attempt re-writing this chapter. I promise, however, that the next chapter will definitely be review worthy! Again, sorry for the long wait! There are a couple of parts I think are pretty good in this chapter though, so yeah, I hope you enjoyed at least those. :O Thank you guys so much for putting up with me so far! **


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